Yellow Dust In My House (Update)

I have yellow dust throughout my whole house. It even turns my carpets yellow. If you spray the carpet with water it makes it white. But it is not just on the surface of the carpets. It took me 13 hours to scrub 2 rugs until the yellow was all gone. I scrubbed them with a brand new steam cleaner that heats the water and I put hot water in the machine. My hot water gets to over 130 degrees. I don't usually open my windows. I really do not think it is pollen.

I cleaned everything in November and have not opened my windows since then, and everything still is turning yellow again. No one wears shoes in my house, so it is not from outside. The dust is on everything. My heating vents have been cleaned twice in the past 5 years. It didn't help at all. I have also had my rugs professionally cleaned and that didn't help either. I want to know what it is and what causes it? It drives me crazy that I clean the whole house so well and no one wears shoes in my house, yet the white carpets I have look dirty because of this yellow stuff - whatever it is.

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I have enclosed a picture of my white carpet when I moved my couch. You can see it is white where the legs of the couch sit, and where I went over it with a steam cleaner. Where most people walk, it's not so yellow because it comes off onto people's socks. I do not have any plants in my house. I am a very bad gardener and can not keep anything alive.

Wow, SherryLynn! I don't have a clue what the yellow dust could be. Have you spoken with neighbors to see if they have the same problem. My concern is that if it's all over the house, then it becomes a health issue because you are breathing it, too. Could it be something the house itself is "shedding" or giving off. I honestly can't even imagine what it can be but I think you should try to find someone to analyze the dust. God bless you and help you to find a solution.

Oh also no one smokes in my house. And it is not stains from a pet. When I had my vents cleaned I asked them about it, and they looked at me like I was crazy. I went over a spot on that rug over 20 times and it looked clean. Until the next day that is. I am going to replace that carpet because I don't want to spends days or even weeks scrubbing it. I was thinking maybe it could be my carpets? I will soon know when I buy a new rug from a different place. Any advice?

Do you have gas heat? Do the walls change color, the ceiling, or just the floor? It sounds as if natural gas is leaving a residue when being used, this happens a great deal in older heating systems even though the duct work is cleaned.

I'm wondering if you live near some sort of refinery or mechanical plant where they fire things. Maybe it's residue from something nearby. You should call your local health department and ask them about it the air quality in your area.

Do your carpets have a rubber back? Sometimes when carpets get old the rubber back turns yellow and crumbles into dust. This could be the problem. Shampooing your carpet may make the problem worse.

Try to pull up a corner of the rug where no one will see it and check. The corners may not show it because they have had little or no traffic. But I would try to get to a well used part of the carpet and check.

wow. that is surely more than pollen. yes i agree call your agriculture office or the like. ask them if other people have this problem. if it is dusty it could be in your air and therefore breathing it. that is very strange.

Wish I knew what to tell you. I have a small country store which had the same problem when we bought it. Since then, we have insulated the attic and walls, new wall paneling, new carpet, less windows, probably better sealed doors, new heating and air conditioning and vents. No more problem!

Maybe things need to be sealed up better in your home--good luck. I hated that junk and it bothered my breathing.

I didn't see anything about when you bought the carpet or if you did buy the carpet. I tend towards the breakdown of the carpet pad as an answer. Pollen usually causes other problems and not just carpet color changes.

I also think you should talk to the health department because this does sound like a biohazard of some sort especially if your breathing is affected.

The suggestion to talk to an Ag college is good, too-- especially if they have a biohazard degree. They might be interested enough to do an analysis.

The carpets are 3 and 5 years old, and none have rubber backing. At first I thought it was the white carpet, and they even replaced it. Then when I scrubbed my green rugs and the water was yellow I saw that was not the problem. I do have natural gas but in the basement were the furnace is nothing is yellow and the carpet down there is not yellow. The walls and the ceilings do not turn yellow. The house is very well insulated. I have very high ceilings and in the winter my heating bills are like nothing. No one in the house has any trouble breathing of has had any trouble breathing. I live by a ford stamping plant, but I'm not sure if they burn anything. I was thinking could it maybe be the stuff you sprinkle on your rugs before you vacuum-like carpet fresh? Also I have used electric potpourri pots with liquid potpourri for years. I threw all on them out, and I am not going to use them ever again. On my fireplace where I had a potpourri pot its yellow. So maybe this is the problem. Any one use these pots with liquid potpourri? Thank you all for all the input and feedback. It is really helping me. Thanks so much.

Check your dryer vent connection making sure theres no leaks.Make sure your dryer drum is not out of round if it makes a thumping sound when on and it isnt quiet it means its out of round meaning not petfectly round anymore and is allowing dryer lint into the home. If you have a fireplace have someone go up into attic and make sure its connected properly if its dislodge its allowing attic dust into the home. Have your hvac checked mAke sure there isnt dust from attic or from outside coming in from somewhere. Maybe your hvac needs to be cleaned. Check all weatherstripping on doors

Pollen from outside? Make sure to check all door and window seals maybe u need new weather seals .Check your dryer vent connection for leaks. Is your dryer always making a thumping sound when on? If so that means its out of round not perfectly round anymore and alowing dryer lint into the home meaning u need a new dryer. Maybe your hvac ducts need to be cleaned maybe theres a tear in the ducts maybe u need new ducts maybe duct dislodged allowing dirty attic dust into the home. Do u have a fireplace? Maybe the connection is dislodged in attic allowing attic air into the home. Buy better hvac filters they must be changed max every 3 months

I have yellow dust throughout my whole house. It even turns my carpets yellow. If you spray the carpet with water it makes it white. But it is not just on the suface of the carpets. It took me 13 hours to scrub 2 rugs untill the yellow was all gone. No one wears shoes in my house, so it is not from outside. The dust is on everything. My heating vents have been cleaned twice in the past 5 years. I want to know what it is and what causes it?

SHERRYLYNN from HAMBURG, NY

Answers:

Yellow Dust In My House

Do you have alot of house plants? or have alot of nature outside your door? Flowering trees? anything like that? I suspect that you may have pollen invading your house, it's the right time of year, and some plants produce more then others. Close your windows, trim away any plants from your heating/cooling unit. We have that yellow dust all over our trucks outside, it will get better. Just check for the sources and ask your neighbors if they are having a similar problem. Good luck (03/17/2007)

Yellow Dust In My House

Everything in my area as well as my house is currently covered with yellow "dust" but it is actually pollen. It will pass in a few weeks. but in the mean time spray off the car, keep your windows closed and clean your air filters. (03/19/2007)

By strawboss

Yellow Dust In My House

Yes! I get pollen all over my car in the spring too! I hate it! It is such a bummer it got into your house! what an awful mess! (03/19/2007)

Yellow Dust In My House

Yellow Dust In My House

Do you leave your windows open when the weather is nice? if so it's probably pollen or dust from outside. i had that problem with black soot when i lived in Tonawanda, NY near an oil refinery plant. you will probably have to have the carpets steam cleaned. i would first try using the ones you can rent at local grocery stores. if you can afford it, it would be better to have a professional do the job, but make sure it's a heated water application and extraction method from a truck mounted machine. (03/19/2007)

By Debbie from SC USA

Yellow Dust In My House

Do you have a lot of evergreen trees around? They produce yellow pollen. (03/20/2007)